de bkame



vNirnn srajins PATENT OFFICE.

J. A. DE BRAME, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND BENJ. GURNEY, OF

SAME PLACE. i

SKATE.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 32,495, dated J une 4, 1861.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J. A. DE BRAME, of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fastenings for Skates; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear7 and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l shows a bottom View of a skate having my improved fastening applied to it. Fig. z, is a longitudinal section, through Fig. l, in the vertical planes indicated by the course of red line m, m, thereon showing the improved device for fastening the skate to the boot at the heel. Fig. 3, is a perspective view of the heel plate which is'secured to the heel of the boot. Fig. 4, is a view showing the plate and its fastening, which are secured to the heel part of the skate iron.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to an improvement insecuring skates to the soles of boots where- A is a common skate iron, having elevaV tions at a and at Z9, which respresent respectively the ball and heel parts of the skate. On the part a a flat plate B, is suitably secured which should be sufficiently large to form a good bearing for the front part of the foot. One or more hooked projections 0 project from the top of plate B, and curve backward, or toward the heel part of the skate, as shown in Fig. 2, of the drawings. This hook o catches into a recess Z formed in a plate C which is secured to the sole of the A plate D, is suitably secured on the heel elevation o, and this plate should be of a i suitable size for supporting the heel of the boot. The top surface of this plate D, is Hat like plate B, and in the front partof the plate D a heel pin E is fixed, which projects up perpendicularly from plate D and enters a hole in the heel of the boot when the skate is on. A longitudinal dovetail slot c, shown in Figs. 2 and A of the drawings is formed in the upper surface of plate D, which extends through this plate, and in this s lot e is a sliding block f, two of the edges or sides of which are beveled to fit. the corresponding beveled sides of the slot e. This keeps the block f, in its slot and allows this block to be moved longitudinally back and forth in its slot.

On the upper surface of the sliding block fand projecting up therefrom a suitable distance is a metallic button g, having a small neck g', shown in Figs. 2 and 4f of the drawings. This button and its neck should be made very strong and securely fixed to the sliding block f. A pin 71, having a suitable head It on one end and a male screw thread on the other end is screwed into the back of block f and the stem of the screw passes loosely through the-metal portion D as shown in Fig. 2, thus having the button h outside of the plate d. Now by means of this headed pin 71 the block f may be moved back and forth in its slot or by turning the pin zf-the screw working in block f this block may be adjusted longitudinally. A strong helical spring z' is coiled around that portion of pin /L which is between block f and fixed plate Z which spring will forcibly move the block f forward when it is drawn back and released.

A heel plate G which may be made quite narrow, is secured to the bottom of the heel of the boot, in the middle of the heel and through this plate a slot 7s is cut in a direction with the length of the plate, the rear end of which slot terminates in an enlarged hole n, of `sufficient size to freely admit the button g on block f and the slot le is made large enough to admit only the neck g of this button g, thus when the button g, is passed through hole n in plate G the neck of this button g will slip into the slot la. The upper surface of plate G should be inclined toward its rear end, so that when t-he button head g is passed through this plate and moved forward, the head will draw the plate G and D tightly together.

In putting the improved skate on the boot having plates C and G secured to its sole as above described, the hook o is first passed into the hole d through plate C, the heel of the skate is now pressed up against the heel of the boot and pin E is inserted into its hole. The pin h is drawn backward moving the block f and button g, with it until the button g, passes through hole n through plate Gr, when the pin ZL is released, and the spring z' allowed to force the neck of the button g forward and into the slot 7c in plate G. The button g will thus secure the heel part of the skate to the heel of the boot. To take off the skate it is only necessary to draw pin h back until the button g will slip out of the hole n in plate Gr, then detach the hook o from plate C, when the skate will come off.

By using the sliding button g, I dispense with spring catches of latches ,which have hitherto been used and their attending objections and I am enabled to make a very secure fastening which is simple and easily operated and where the heels of boots are very low -as in the case of ladies boots, and the common latch fastening could not be used, my improved fastening will answer a very good purpose for securing the skates at the heels.

I am aware that fixed button fastenings have been used in conjunction with other fastenings for securing skates to the soles of boots and I therefore do not claim, broadly, button fastenings which are fixed on the skate plates or other part or parts of a skate-but What I do claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- The button fastening g or its equivalent when secured to a sliding plate f, which works in a groove in the skate plate G, and is operatedlby a pin 71 substantially as, and for the purposes, herein set forth.

J. A. DE BRAME.

Witnesses:

M. M. LIVINGSTON, C. W. QOWTAN. 

